Synergistic antibacterial brilliant blue/reduced graphene oxide/quaternary phosphonium salt composite with excellent water solubility and specific targeting capability.

A water-soluble brilliant blue/reduced graphene oxide/tetradecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide composite (BB-rGO-TTP) was prepared by using noncovalent brilliant blue-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (BB-rGO) as the tetradecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (TTP) carrier. Antibacterial performance of this novel composite was investigated for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results showed that the novel BB-rGO-TTP, combing the advantages of graphene and TTP, displayed excellent synergistic antibacterial activity, specific targeting capability, water solubility, and mild cytotoxicity, suggesting the great potential application as sprayable graphene-based antibacterial solutions.